“While we have never challenged the TSA’s basic authority to conduct safety-related searches, our concern was that TSA interpreted its limited authority to safeguard air travel as a license to conduct unlimited law enforcement searches for which TSA agents are not trained and which distracted from the agency’s critical mission of ensuring flight safety,”said Larry Schwartztol, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. “By reinforcing the constitutionally mandated limits on the TSA’s search authority, the new directives enhance the TSA’s safety-related mission.”
The article can be found here:
http://www.aclunc.org/issues/technology/blog/tsa_fixes_search_policy_after_aclu_sues.shtml
I also found the following study to be of interest:
Airline passenger security screening: new technologies and implementation issues
http://books.google.com/books?id=I0grAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=passenger+screening+constitution&source=bl&ots=LpNfKG0fFU&sig=nHNRcNR9QxJLmh9vzUMxWMFrdZ0&hl=en&ei=8FXlTOfyJtCWOqiH6N8K&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=passenger%20screening%20constitution&f=false
In general it is a fair analysis from both sides point of view even though written by the, National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Commercial Aviation Security. It's general conclusion is that the courts have consistently upheld screening procedures at airports under several doctrines. There is simply no requirement of probable cause to conduct these searches.
Anyone interested in reviewing these materials are referred to the link.
